Ararat Gallery artist talk will be among the trees

ARARAT - Renowned artist Tim Jones will present an artist talk at Ararat Regional Art Gallery on Thursday (Sep 20) to coincide with the opening of his new exhibition.

Tim Jones: Amongst the trees: works on paper, sculpture, tapestry will run from September 20 to October 28.

Mr Jones' talk will begin at 6pm.

Born in Wales in 1962, Jones arrived in Australia in 1983 as a trained artist specialising in printmaking and sculpture.

He soon established his reputation as one of the most accomplished printmakers working in Australia, specialising in wood engravings.

'Amongst the trees' is a survey exhibition of Mr Jones' works on paper, sculpture and tapestry which reflects on the natural world and explores the rich symbolism of trees and the forest.

The influence of Mr Jones' Welsh upbringing on his artistic vision is significant.

As a boy his father, a woodwork teacher and restorer of Gypsy caravans, taught him the art of wood engraving while telling him stories about Celtic history and folklore and Romany life.

These experiences remain at the heart of his practice which is focused on sculpture and wood engraved prints, which he skilfully carves out of boxwood blocks and hand prints.

The 18th century wood engraver and naturalist, Thomas Berwick, and the poet, artist and mystic, William Blake, have profoundly influenced his visual language focused on the mythic symbolism of the natural world.

A move to Hanging Rock in central Victoria in the 1990s, transformed Mr Jones' practice.

He abandoned urban scenes and cityscapes and resumed his childhood interest in nature.

His depiction of gnarled and twisted Australian trees, contrasts with upright and orderly 'memory forests' recalling his Welsh homeland.

The European settlement of Australia is often addressed in his work: European trees stand as resilient transplants amidst Australian gum forests; fecund Aboriginal scar trees personify womanhood with womb-like scars.

The forest appears as alternately a place of dark solemnity or an uplifting source of spiritual enrichment.

Mr Jones is represented in many public collections, including the National Gallery of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria. He has completed many notable public art projects and is well known across regional Victoria though public art commissions including 'Scar Tree' (2003) in Horsham, and most recently, 'The Seafarers Tree' (2012) in Port Fairy.

He is represented by Australian Galleries.

For more information, contact Ararat Regional Art Gallery on 5352 2836 or at gallery@ararat.vic.gov.au